Crist Calls for Special Session To Ban Offshore Oil Drilling Near Florida

By Lloyd DunkelbergerLedger Tallahassee Bureau

Thursday

Jul 8, 2010 at 8:16 PM

In a dramatic political gamble, Gov. Charlie Crist on Thursday called state lawmakers back to Tallahassee to pass a state constitutional amendment banning oil drilling near Florida's shoreline.

TALLAHASSEE | In a dramatic political gamble, Gov. Charlie Crist on Thursday called state lawmakers back to Tallahassee to pass a state constitutional amendment banning oil drilling near Florida's shoreline.

Crist, who is running as an independent candidate for the U.S. Senate, took the unusual step of invoking his power as governor to unilaterally call lawmakers into a four-day special session on July 20-23.

Normally, governors call special sessions after reaching an agreement with legislative leaders on the agenda. But facing an Aug. 4 deadline to get the amendment on November ballot, Crist decided to act on his own after being ignored by House leaders.

And now the political calculations begin on who will win or lose if lawmakers reject or accept the governor's ultimatum. The outcome of the session could impact fall elections, ranging from the Senate race to the governor and Cabinet races to the legislative races.

Crist, a former Republican who bolted from his party in April, downplayed the political ramifications of his decision.

"Politics has nothing to do with this. This has everything to do with doing what's right for a place that I love - I love Florida," Crist said.

Acknowledging that state law already bans drilling in state waters - up to 10.3 miles in the Gulf of Mexico - Crist also noted that legislative leaders were poised to change the law before the Deepwater Horizon disaster spread millions of gallons of oil along the Gulf coast.

"I know just a year ago, they tried to change the law and drill holes just three miles off the coast of Florida," Crist said.

Crist said voters should be given a chance to consider a constitutional ban so that future attempts to change the law don't "happen again."

If approved by three-fifths vote of the Legislature, the governor's amendment would be placed on the Nov. 2 ballot, where it would need support from at least 60 percent of the electorate to become a part of the state constitution.

While others have called for other oil-related measures, ranging from tax relief for communities hit by the spill to renewed calls for an alternative energy policy, Crist said he wanted to limit the special session's agenda strictly to the constitutional drilling ban.

"This is a rifle shot," Crist said, adding the other issues could be considered later.

Crist's political opponents slammed the governor's call for a special session.

Republican Senate candidate Marco Rubio, a former House speaker from Miami, called Crist's move "nothing more than a political sideshow." He said Crist was seeking to ban something already illegal under state law.

"We don't need more photo ops and finger pointing. We need leadership," Rubio said in a statement.

Attorney General Bill McCollum, a Republican gubernatorial candidate, also criticized Crist's proposal, saying it "fails to address the real actions" the state must to take to help coastal communities struggling with the oil spill.

Because state law already bans the drilling, McCollum said a constitutional amendment is "unnecessary."

He suggested state leaders focus on a "variety of tax and regulatory incentives" to help businesses and tourist destinations that are being impacted by the spill.

Democrats and environmental groups praised the governor's call for a constitutional ban.

"It's the right move," said Rep. Keith Fitzgerald, D-Sarasota, who has been working on a constitutional ban since early May.

Although House leaders have rebuffed Crist's proposal, Fitzgerald said the amendment would pass if leaders let it get to the floor. "Nobody wants to be the guy who stood up against the ban on oil drilling," he said.

"Our beaches are so important, our coast economy is so important, we need to act now to make sure this never happens in Florida waters," said Eric Draper of Audubon Florida.

As for the limited nature of the ban - which would not impact drilling in the vast, federally controlled waters off Florida's coast - Draper called the 10-mile zone around Florida's Gulf "the most important strip."

"We need to take a stand now and say no," he said.

Heading into the special session, the House will hold the key on whether the ban ends up on the November ballot.

Senate President Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, has signaled his willingness to consider the proposal and Senate Rules Chairman Alex Villalobos, R-Miami, has agreed to sponsor the measure.

In a letter to senators on Thursday, Atwater said lawmakers also would look to add other issues to the agenda, saying the impact of the spill is "very complex, begging simple answers or quick fixes."

He said a Senate committee has been reviewing proposals to help coastal communities dealing with the spill, including tax breaks, the methods of compensation, regulatory relief and economic recovery zones.

Crist, who suggested a special session beginning in May, said he has not even been able to get a phone call returned from House leaders on the issue.

And animosity levels remain high between House leaders and the governor, following a series of moves that have only increased the hostility, ranging from the governor's jump from the Republican Party to his veto of an education bill backed by House leaders to budget vetoes that eliminated spending projects backed by key lawmakers.

Nonetheless, Crist still holds a lot of leverage over lawmakers. For instance, if they reject his initial call, Crist can summon lawmakers into another session on the same issue.

Some veteran observers think, despite the House's apparent opposition to the governor's plan, it will be difficult for lawmakers to reject the amendment as long as a major oil threat looms off Florida's shores.

"It's hard for me to believe that it ultimately doesn't get adopted," said Ron Book, a longtime lobbyist in Tallahassee.

One of the reasons is that neither lawmakers nor state officials know what exactly will happen to the state as the oil spill unfolds during the next few months, Book said.

Crist said he thinks House leaders will agree to let voters decide the fate of the constitutional amendment.

"It would seem to me that it would be very difficult to oppose allowing the people - who we all work for - to make that call," Crist said. "I can't imagine that they would be opposed and I hope that they aren't."

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